In hardware design, there are at least two different approaches to solving the vast computing needs of a social networking website—“scaling up” and “scaling out.” Scaling up requires that ever-increasing amounts of computing power are built into a given computing system, while scaling out requires that an ever-increasing fleet of simple computing systems (each with a moderate amount of computing power) be built.
For example, two-socket (2S) computing platforms, which have long been the mainstream server architecture, have become scale-up computing systems. Multiple high-performance processors ensure that 2S computing platforms are strong and versatile. However, the high-performance processors are also bulky and power hungry. Consequently, 2S computing platforms are not optimized for scale-out computing systems.
Moreover, many conventional server architectures include a single printed circuit board (PCB) assembly that has multiple servers. But such a design requires that the entire PCB assembly be replaced if a single server fails. Accordingly, there is a need for an easily serviceable server platform that uses space more efficiently and provides greater flexibility.
The figures depict various embodiments for the purpose of illustration only. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternative embodiments may be employed without departing from the principles of the technology.